This was my contribution to the Wet Canvas Weekend Drawing Event this week. He was drawn in ink and then watercolored in my sketchbook. There’s always great photos to work from there, but I’ve gotten so interested in drawing from life that I hadn’t been doing the WDE lately. Couldn’t resist trying the peacock though.
I used to think that getting a drawing right would take too long so I used to trace my subjects from enlargements of my photos onto watercolor paper. My time was limited and I just wanted to PAINT–I thought that was the fun part–and I had no faith in my drawing ability. Now, after only a few months of daily drawing, I feel confident enough in my drawing to start drawing directly in ink most of the time.
And I’ve come to value and enjoy pictures that are drawn, not perfectly, but with personality and feeling and verve. Of course it’s nice to be able to get it right, too, but the most important thing is the pleasure I get from the drawing and the understanding that comes from really seeing deeply the things I’m drawing.
